The First Battle
by Piratefish
Summary: As a Ganmen breaks through to the Giha village, Yoko gets delayed. Kamina must face it alone, armed only with a sword. WHAT THE HELL WILL HAPPEN? And how will it change the world?
1. THE BATTLE!

The Chief, fat bastard as he was, was red-faced, angry, and in the process of striking me with a sheathed katana (again) when it happened.

Impact, like no quake we've ever had.

Short, sudden and then _over_, sending the Chief, and Simon, to the ground. Well, I fell too, but I got up again.

The ceiling was breaking, cracks spreading all over it, dust and rocks tumbling down like a waterfall.

And then the whole thing broke, and I saw Surface light again. And something fell through. Something _huge_.

"Simon, that's the thing you wanted to show me, isn't it?"

An incoherent negative from the kid behind me, as well as choked denials from the Chief. They were probably cowering in fear back there.

Fuck, I wanted to do the same, to run. But Simon believes in me, I can't go around doing stuff like that.

"Up there, is the SURFACE!" I assumed a (slightly ridiculous) dramatic pose, and went about proclaiming. This is the best way to calm Simon down, oddly enough.

"That huge guy fell from up there, you all SAW it! Ain't that right, Chief?" Eat it, asshole.

Movement, behind me. _Huge_ movement.

It seems like this thing, in the process of standing up, is enough to frighten people into running for their lives. Not me though, and not Simon.

"What's up, Chief? Aren't you the one who's supposed to protect this village?" The man is lying on the ground, gibbering, and I can't blame him.

"Now which one of us is the liar?" Heh. I lied. Fat bastard.

I take back my sword, and demonstrate one of the moves resulting from _endless_ practice, not least because I only ever had access to it at night. Well, down here "night" is a meaningless term. When the Chief was sleeping, which was fairly often. I spin it easily around my neck, and, holding it in a ready position, advance on the intruder.

"Bro! Hurry! We gotta go, this way!"

Figures. Simon has an escape-tunnel. He's got to grow out of that, and I've got to show him what he's going to become.

I vent some of my anxiety on the giant, white, bullheaded thing in front of me.

"OhohohOH! You've got some nerve, busting into MY village like that! You ruined the roof!"

Simon is blabbering something about running. I pretend not to hear.

"But I WON'T allow you to do as you please!" I point at the monster, and it _answers._

The enormous maw of it, every single tooth larger than me, clinks open and shut as it speaks.

"**What? Who the hell are YOU?"**

Its voice is fittingly bestial and gigantic.

But it has given me an opening! I've been _practicing _for this!

"It spoke!" Simon, finally standing at my back. He's always been a bit slow in stressful situations.

"I'll tell ya, so open up those big ears and listen well!" That music which plays in my head when I do something badass starts up. I must be on the right track.

"Leader of Giha Village's Gurren Brigade!" Which I made.

"With a man's soul and a strong back, a tenacious demon!" I unsheathe my sword.

"I am… The GREAT **KAMINA**!"

It doesn't seem to know my name. How very strange. People are muttering at my baddassitude behind me. I'm sure that's what those mumblings are about.

"Any outlaws in this town… Will NOT be forgiven!"

Finally, Simon has his backbone regrown. He's standing straight at my side.

But the bull-thing just laughs and raises an arm. An arm with a club in it.

"**HAHAHAHAAA! What can such a TINY human do?!**"

So, this thing is not human. Not surprising, but it's good to know.

The club comes down.

"Simon, run!"

He hesitates for an instant, and I shove him aside. There's barely enough time left to-

**CRASH**

dodge, and I barely do. I cover my face with my arms, but stone splinters still graze my mouth and jaw, some penetrate the bandages on my arms. I'm bleeding, but I don't even register the pain.

I jump up on the club and run up it. I save my breath (and boasts) for battle. I've got a fight to win.

Almost in range of its huge, red eye, I draw back my sword and

**FLICK**

ow, that wasn't

**THUMP**

aargh. I think I've broken EVERY rib. The pain is enough to leave the edges of my vision in darkness.

That bastard FLICKED me, like an insect! No-one FLICKS Kamina!

I try to rise, and fail. Can't even lift an arm.

"**YOUR PATHETIC 'DEFENDER' IS DEAD. I'LL KILL YOU ****ALL****!**"

Simon believes in me. I can't fail here. I can't die now.

I lift my arms this time. Still not enough.

I hear screams, but some stand out. My name is being howled, by more than one voice.

**I **believe in me. I **won't** fail and I **won't** die.

I rise. Not gracefully, and it hurts more than anything ever has, but I rise. And discover that I'm still holding my sword.

"**HUH?" **At the sudden cessation of screams, the Grinning Bull begins turning 'round, and I throw my sword. It sitcks up to the hilt, nearly between the eyes of my enemy. Was it my imagination or was my sword _glowing_, for an instant?

I hear a second voice from the monster, this one thin and reedy and panicked. Is there a _pilot _in that thing?

I charge it before it has time to react. Grab my sword, and jump back from it.

The Bull seems to have gathered itself. It says something, but I'm not listening.

The Bull itself doesn't matter anymore. Only the fight does, and I **WON'T** LOSE!

The club comes crashing down, and my sword, glowing blue, rises to meet it.

And cuts it in two.

"**WHAT?!**"

I charge.

"**THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! NO ****HUMAN**** CAN DO THIS!**"

I can.

My sword, covered in screaming blue fire, slices the beast in half.

And I lose my hold on consciousness.

* * *

**A/N: **Oddly enough, according to the developers of the series Kamina would have WON the first battle ON HIS OWN. This is my attempt at explaining how it would have gone down. I may continue this.


	2. Simon and Fear

Simon was afraid. That wasn't unusual, but now his fear, and EVERYTHING, seemed to be on a larger scale. The sky had opened, and a MONSTER had descended.

His bro had fought it, and won. And collapsed, he could be _dying_, and Simon was afraid.

"HEY! ANYONE ALIVE DOWN-"

Someone was shouting. But they didn't matter, bro mattered, he was… he…

"Hey, kid, geddup. What happened here?" A rough voice, but not unkind. Simon attempted to answer.

"The-the-the monster, bro fought it, he-he… You GOTTA HELP HIM!" Simon was more certain of this than he'd ever been in his life. His bro needed help. These people could help. These people WOULD HELP HIS BRO!

"Sure, we've got a medic ready. Well, a mechanic, but how different-" "HELP HIM!"

"Fine, kid. LEERON!"

As the focus of the new arrivals shifted towards Kamina's still form, ("What is it, Dayakka?")Simon stood frozen. He was breathing hard, purely from the strength of his own emotions. He hadn't done ANYTHING! He couldn't-

"You should try to calm down, kid."

This voice was female, and even gentler than the first. Simon couldn't quite bring himself to look up, though, let alone answer.

"A lot of stuff has happened in a very short time. You've never even _seen_ the surface, have you?"

He managed to shake his head.

"Do you think you could tell me what happened here?"

A hesitant, jerky nod.

A pause.

"You'll have to, you know, say something for that to happen. Looking up from the ground might help too."

Simon finally raised his head, and immediately looked away, suppressing a blush.

Was _that _considered a _decent_ amount of clothing on the surface?

"My name is Yoko, by the way." It sounded like she was smiling.

"Si-Simon."

"So, Simon. Are you _really _up for this?"

The nod was swifter this time, surer. He could _do_ this!

Simon locked eyes with the red-haired girl, and began his story.

* * *

"He CUT IT IN _HALF_?"

"Yes."

"With a SWORD?"

"Yes."

"_THAT_ SWORD?"

"YES!" She'd repeated this line of questioning for the _third_ time, how could she not _understand!_

But she was ignoring him and approaching said blade. She picked it up, gingerly, as if it might explode or something.

Simon approached, and extended a finger for the slightest of pokes.

"GUAAH!" She dropped the sword, spun to face him.

"I, uh, forgot something, Miss Yoko. It doesn't actually have anything to do with the fight, but it might be important…"

She looked momentarily annoyed at being spooked, but then she smiled.

"Just call me Yoko, please. And go on."

"I… found _this._" He held forth his drill-bit for examination.

"That's… not very impressive, Simon. Why would you-?"

"There's more. Follow me."

Simon dashed off into the tunnels, the girl who hailed from a surface he never believed existed at his back.

* * *

"You know, you seem a lot more confident when you're down here."

The narrow passageway was barely illuminated by Simon's glasses. He turned his head, barked out a

"What?"

"You know, confident. Assured. You were sorta shy before, but down here you're not. You're solid. Like rock."

Simon never had anyone with him when he dug, except his bro, sometimes. And no-one was as confident as his bro.

"I am?"

"Yeah." Yoko smiled again, more warmth in it than any she'd shown before.

They continued in silence for a while, before

"Here it is."

The tunnel expanded into a cramped chamber, human-like features barely visible in the rock opposite to the entrance.

"Whoa! That's a Ganmen… The smallest one I've ever seen…"

Yoko was peering at it, trying to get a closer view than what seemed physically possible to achieve in the tiny cave.

"What's a Gan-?"

"Could you dig it out a bit? I'll answer everything later, I promise."

Simon did.

A humanoid head was revealed, with stumpy arms and legs. The colour of it was dark like dried blood, but that could have been the dim light of his goggles.

They entered the cockpit.

"Hey… That looks like my drill-bit would…"

"It does. Why don't you try it?"

Simon extended the tiny drill into the socked, and _twisted_.

As the chamber filled with greenish light, for just a moment, he was not afraid at all.


End file.
